Shutting down streets for athletic events; a daughter’s fond view of her cabdriver dad; Meg Whitman’s illegal immigrant maid

Athletes vs. cars

Re “Triathlon takes 2,800 runners across the city,” Oct. 4

I’m a former triathlete and marathon runner, and have experienced the fun of having the city shut down major arteries so that I could run through my favorite neighborhoods.

More recently, I’ve seen these races from the other side — that of the frustrated motorist. I’ve completely revised my view of the competitions.

Sunday is simply no longer the sleepy do-nothing day. It’s asking too much of thousands of drivers to know about a triathlon in advance, check the Internet and change their routes and schedules to accommodate 2,800 athletes.

There are all kinds of things that can be done: Hold the race outside of town where roads can be closed without such enormous traffic consequences; permit a few crossing points; put proper signage in place and brief law enforcement officers on what to tell drivers about how and where they can cross the blocked streets.

Or, if that’s too much, cancel the whole thing.

Kevin Koloff

Beverly Hills

How is it that 2,800 people, or a minuscule portion of the population of Los Angeles (not the entire county, mind you) who participated in the weekend triathlon are incentive enough to bisect the city for hours?

After the hue and cry over traffic during President Obama’s recent visit, where is the outrage over this?

After an early start, there just can’t be that many stragglers at 9:45 a.m. to keep major thoroughfares completely closed.

Liz White

Los Angeles

The man behind the wheel

Re “She’s just a cabdriver’s daughter,” Opinion, Oct. 3

I must say that I was deeply touched by the love, pride and humanity that the author expresses when she writes about her father. She exposes so clearly the personal toll that people of all nationalities, races, religions and cultures face because of stereotypes.

She speaks to all of us, whether parents or children, about the things that are truly important in life.

I am sure that as she is proud of her father, so must he be beaming about the little girl who has obviously grown up to be such an elegant woman.

As a Jewish dentist and father, I am also sure that the children she sees as patients are in the hands of an extremely caring professional. Who could ask for more?

Robert Cohen

Sherman Oaks

How wonderful that she could share with all of us, her father and mother included, her pride in both of them. How wonderful she did it while they were alive and could read and hear her words.

I thought of the voice she shared with those of us who may ride in the backs of cabs and not know who these people are, what truths they know, the values they hold dear.

In this period of fear of the unknown, I thank her for opening the door so we can learn and trust.

Marilou Lieman

Rancho Palos Verdes

Fed up with all of the fees

Re “Paying a fee to pay your bill? Yep,” Column, Business, Oct. 5

I’m glad that someone started exposing these greedy corporate lords; David Lazarus seems to be on the right track.

One nearby gas station advertises lower prices than the gas station across the street. But it doesn’t tell you about some “extra” charges it imposes if you are paying with your ATM card. That makes its prices higher than average.

The problem is that you don’t know about this charge until you stop and run your card through the machine.

The world is full of crooks.

Steve Alexis

Santa Monica

So, business has found yet another way to stick it to the consumer.

I, for one, will not patronize any business that changes its pricing based on my choice of payment method.

Natalie Sentz

Oceanside

Yes, this needs to be reformed. Are you kidding me?

It’s like someone saying: “If I owe someone money, and decide it’s best to pay them cash in person, and I drive the payment to them, now I need to pay extra.” Gimme a break.

Shannon Rutherford

Los Feliz

What about this: A water and power department that allows customers to sign up for an online service that allows the viewing and payment of monthly bills online.

However, the online customer incurs a $3.50 fee even if the card used is a debit card.

I can be a bit slow, so it took $13.50 in fees before realizing that for less than $1.50 in postage, I have been achieving the same result with a monthly check for about 30 years.

Ron Phillips

Burbank

Maids on their minds

Re “A jumbled view on illegal migrants,” News Analysis, Oct. 2

Your article asks the question: “Did she have some sort of moral responsibility to help out a woman whom Whitman herself described as a member of her extended family?”

Only if a fuller question is asked do I think the answer becomes obvious: “Did Whitman have a moral responsibility to help out someone who lied to her and deceived her for nine years? What was her responsibility to someone who tricked her into doing something illegal and something that went strongly against her value system?”

Given this perspective, I think that Meg Whitman’s response was appropriate and restrained.

Wilma Bennett

West Hills

I had an interesting experience recently; I worked as a volunteer for two hours alongside an immigrant mother of three children. She speaks a little English, and I speak little Spanish, but we managed to talk.

Her country is dangerous and filled with crime. She came here to provide a better life for her children. Since arriving here, she and her husband have found work. They are good people, and their boys, now bilingual, attend school in an amazing community, where they receive free lunches, food stamps, medical care and free preschool for the littlest one.

My husband works hard too, to take care of our family. Our children are going to a good school, and we live in a safe area. We are thankful for that. We do not get food stamps, free lunches or free preschool. We pay dearly for medical coverage.

We are what is becoming a thing of the past: We are the struggling middle class, trying to find our way in this great nation of America.

So here I sit, volunteering at a preschool that is too expensive for us yet free for others.

Heather Savage

Calistoga, Calif.

It is apparent from recent news events that legal citizens cannot win.

We are the bad guys if we ask for documentation; we are the bad guys if we do not; we are the bad guys if we try to enforce the law by firing the illegal citizen when we find out.

Sheri Shields-Hanson

Santa Barbara

As a result of this issue, I wonder how many employers are now going to treat their maids as suspects and cross-examine them about their immigration status? How many maids are going to tearfully confess and, as a result, lose their jobs?

I don’t know what this media circus is going to do for the careers of Meg Whitman, Jerry Brown or Gloria Allred, but it’s certainly not a career booster for maids.

Bill Gravlin

Rancho Palos Verdes

What elections won’t change

Re “Lost midterm elections: So what?” Opinion, Oct. 3

I expect the midterm elections to result in Republicans “sweeping into Congress with a mandate for change from the American people” because we still have problems and the majority party didn’t fix everything in the last 18 or so months.

But why do the Republicans think they’ll be able to do better? Even if they have a supermajority, the past year and a half shows that, if determined, the minority can play obstructionist politics and block any meaningful progress by the majority party.

Rather than attempting to achieve an alternative solution, their objective is to prevent the other side from accomplishing anything.

The consequences of this strategy are ominous: Nothing meaningful gets done on issues that desperately need attention.

Alan Prochaska

Pasadena